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<p style="font-weight: bold;">The Purpose</p>
<br />
<p>The purpose of the Homeless Partners Christmas Wish List is to help people connect personally and directly with
individual homeless people in their own city in a way that is safe and practical.</p>
<br />
<p>We believe that a powerful way to help the homeless is to know their stories and to connect with them
person-to-person. Although this effort has begun during the Christmas season, kindness can be shown daily by
acknowledging them on the street, speaking with them, bringing them food, and encouraging them.</p>
<br />
<p style="font-weight: bold;">Who We Are</p>
<br />
<p>Homeless Partners is a non-profit, self-funded program run entirely by volunteer efforts, in partnership with the
staff at shelters where the program is offered. The Wish List began as a response to the growing problem of homelessness
and the belief that caring for the poor is central to the message of Jesus.</p>
<br />
<p>We have no head office or official organization. Our program is coordinated by a small number of individuals, who
assist volunteers from local churches in starting and running the program in their city. For more information about the
program, please see the <a href="./contact.html">contact</a> page above. For more information about the churches we are
working with to expand the program to a growing list of cities, please see <a href="http://www.wbschool.org"
	target="_blank">www.wbschool.org</a>, or look for one near you at <a href="http://www.church-of-christ.org/churches"
	target="_blank">www.church-of-christ.org</a></p>
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<p style="font-weight: bold;">History</p>
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<p>The Homeless Partners Christmas Wish List was started by Dan and Jennie Keeran in Vancouver, British Columbia in
2005. After moving from the serenity of North Vancouver to the heart of downtown Vancouver, they saw many homeless
people on the street and felt a great deal of sympathy for their suffering. Like most people, they wanted to help, but
didn't really know how.</p>
<br />
<p>While sitting in a restaurant one morning, looking toward the beautiful ocean view through the park on English
Bay, they saw a man who had spent the night on a park bench. They bought some muffins and juice at the restaurant and
decided to talk to him and offer some breakfast. He accepted the food with gratitude and brought their attention to a
mirror from which he was scraping off the silver on the back to create a beautiful piece of art. After hearing some of
the interesting details about his life including 30 years on the street, they began to speak to other homeless people.
Each person had a unique story behind their circumstances of living on the street. One of the most important things they
learned is: Nobody, in their right mind, WANTS to live out in the cold and the rain.</p>
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<p>It occurred to them that other people in the community might be like them - wanting to help but not really
knowing how to do it safely and in the healthiest way. Given the opportunity, they thought that others may want to know
the stories of the homeless and connect personally in some way. They knew that this project would not be a silver bullet
to end homelessness, but rather a way to heighten the public's awareness of the problem and bring some hope to the
homeless and a sense of connectedness that everyone longs for.</p>
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<p>It was not until a few weeks before Christmas in 2005 that they formulated the plan for the Christmas Wish List.
With the help of the Lookout Society, they gathered stories along with the answer to a simple question, "What would you
like for Christmas?" The stories were then posted on a website where people could read them and offer to provide the
gifts requested. The media provided a lot of coverage, locally and nationally, and more than 2,000 gifts were collected
- far more than the shelter had ever received before. Some of the homeless who had been on the street for decades
changed their hardened, weathered expressions into ones of beaming children on Christmas morning when they read their
name on gifts and received cards created just for them.</p>
<br />
<p>The next year they started a second Christmas wish list program in Calgary, Alberta. They partnered with shelters
and local churches in Vancouver and Calgary whose members volunteered to run the program in both cities. Over 700
homeless people were helped in only the second year.</p>
<br />
<p>For 2007, a new website was created to automatically manage the stories and gifts for multiple cities. The
program was expanded to Chicago and New York, with almost 1000 stories posted on the site, and over 450 individual
donors.</p>
<p>Our goal is to grow the program every year, helping more people connect with the homeless in their community in a
meaningful and ongoing way. In 2008, we plan to double the number of participating cities, but we need your help to
continue to reach more communities. The project requires a dedicated group of volunteers in a city to run the program
from October to January, ideally sponsored by a church or other community. In particular, we are currently looking for
technical assistance to improve and support the website. If you or someone you know would be interested in helping,
please contact us!</p>
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<br />
<br />
<p align="center"><i>"When the homeless feel cared about, they value themselves more, and then they have the
courage and hope and strength to move forward in their lives."</i></p>
<br />
<p>You are invited to connect with a homeless person in a personal way right now. Let someone know you care.</p>
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